For a chick, I have really good upper body strength; however, I find I am fatiguing my arms when I climb. Many have explained to me, climbing is more about footwork and body position.

Like the other sports I participate in, often times the way we "feel" we should do something is not the "correct" way to do it. For example, as a kayaker, I have mastered the roll. Everything about the roll is totally counter-intuitive. When upside down in the water, your natural instinct is to bring your head up for air. This is the wrong technique. Do this and you will not come up. It is the most common error a paddler makes when in a sticky situation. Bring your head up, your hips won't snap and your paddle sweep will not bring the boat back to an upright position. The head is the last thing out of the water.

With that being said, I am sure there are some tips for practicing good foot work, etc.

A few common causes of newbie-pump besides not enough footwork is forgetting to breathe, over gripping, not shaking out on good stances, being nervous. Also, the muscles and tendons we employ doing this are not easy to develop, but once they are you'll exert less energy holding on. This sport is a lot like golf in that there is no substitute for time unless you are 13 and strong. Forgetting to breathe is a big one, we all struggle with it at times. You need an array of moves in your quiver. One gym trick to work your footwork is to get on the least vertical wall and climb with one hand only.

A few common causes of newbie-pump besides not enough footwork is forgetting to breathe, over gripping, not shaking out on good stances, being nervous. Also, the muscles and tendons we employ doing this are not easy to develop, but once they are you'll exert less energy holding on. This sport is a lot like golf in that there is no substitute for time unless you are 13 and strong. Forgetting to breathe is a big one, we all struggle with it at times. You need an array of moves in your quiver. One gym trick to work your footwork is to get on the least vertical wall and climb with one hand only.

Oooo...I like that advice about the gym trick. Seems like that would engage your core as well for balance. Right?

Beginner ideas from a beginner: Work on quiet feet - no scraping, clunky, loud gumby stuff. Place your foot once, exactly how you think you want it and move without adjusting. This will make you think about what you are doing even if the placement is horrible. Do a route, think about parts that are hard for you, think about how pushing/pulling/standing/dropping,twisting with your legs and feet can make the move easier, retry and see if it works. Try out heels hooks for moving, resting, leaning, have fun with 'em. Climb a lot, all the time. Obsess about it. Don't kayak, that's not climbing. All tips and tricks are pretty worthless unless you're climbing every chance you get. If you are decent at kayaking you will understand.

Roger that! See I get frustrated if I don't succeed the first time. You are right. Sticking with it and concentrating on foot placement is key. Would you suggest lower climbs and repeat them over and over again?

You can worry about conditioning when you can climb, and as I see it, you are about two years away from being able to climb. This sport is not like those other ones you mentioned, you will see. Climbing 5.7 is not really climbing. Not the type you condition for anyways. I used to do all of those sports and I was great. I chose climbing because I suck. I will always suck. You will always suck. Get used to the idea you are in a sport that is very measurable and, you suck, a lot, and you don't need to worry about conditioning until you know what hang dogging is.

You can worry about conditioning when you can climb, and as I see it, you are about two years away from being able to climb. This sport is not like those other ones you mentioned, you will see. Climbing 5.7 is not really climbing. Not the type you condition for anyways. I used to do all of those sports and I was great. I chose climbing because I suck. I will always suck. You will always suck. Get used to the idea you are in a sport that is very measurable and, you suck, a lot, and you don't need to worry about conditioning until you know what hang dogging is. And if you just trolled me, well done.

Don't think I have a decent answer for the OP - but if anyone's still awake here, got some old-school style answers for aspiring crag tigers.

1. Training lock-off strength: Find the highest place in your house. Like a vaulted ceiling or a balcony. Install a 6x3/8 lag bolt with a std 3/8 hanger into a solid beam. Take an old rope and tie an overhand or 8 on a byte, and clip it in to your high point, dropping the ends to the floor. Get your ascenders. Tape them up with foam and tape; pad them well. Then put them on the ropes, sitting on the floor. Push them both up, do a pull up, then lock off on the left and push the right up. Then pull up. Lock off on the right and push the left up. Continue till the top. (Wear a harness and clip into the ascenders for safety if desired.) Once at the top, reverse the process and descend. Over time, work up to doing laps. This is a great technique to take 5.9/5.10 climbers into the 5.11/5.12 range. (Yes, it's about footwork, but the question was conditioning for climbing...)

2. Training crimp strength: Start when you are able to do at least several pullups and some hard crimps. Pick a solid door-jamb ledge, like the one from the hall into the bathroom. Chalk up if desired. Do one finger-ledge pull-up. Rest. Then do two. Go away and do the dishes. Come back and do three. Go away and start the laundry. Continue till a maximum is reached. Then start to descend, one at a time. For example, if 5 is your max, you'll do 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5, then continue with 4, then 3, then 2, then finish with 1. This is called doing pyramids. Before long you'll be up to 20 as the max. The total number done is the square of the max. So when you're up to 20, you've done 400 finger-ledge pullups. This exercise will take you from 5.10 to 5.12. Same admonitions about footwork - footwork is so key - but this will train crimp strength needed for a lot of 5.12 face routes.

Other than being very fit, the only way to get better at climbing is by climbing alot.

Otherwise read Mark Twight's body of work. He has a book called "Extreme Alpinism" which is filled with handy tips for the climber that is bitten with the fittness bug.

A must read for everyone is the great Outside magazine article The hell on earth fittness plan. That is an approximation of the title, the article is easily found on outsideonline.com. I am unable to produce links or funny pictures with words on them. Would that I could.

The quickest way to make climbing super shitty is to go all ape-crap with the forearm training and finger squeezers and crimping and hut, hut, hut and then all of a sudden comes a crippling case of tendernitis.

I got the tendernitis in both elbows and it blows man. And that shit sticks around like a bad roommate. The only cure is like 4 months of sitting around.

Just go climb. Don't overdo it. Don't worry about grades. Pick a route you can barely get up and do it until you can ascend it in a clean, almost effortless style. Pointers on technique are all fine and well, but someone telling you what a drop knee is doesn't matter a hill of beans until you reach a sequence that requires it and it becomes intuitive- that's just one example. Don't expect to go a few times a month and progress either. If it's something you're passionate about and really want to become good at, you have to devote a shitload of time to it- even when you don't feel like it sometimes.

John makes an excellent point about being new and getting injured. You don't even have to do crazy, climbing muscle-specific shit to get injured. Just climbing too much in general when your muscles and tendons are not accustomed to the stresses can be enough to injure you. The best conditioning for a new climber is simply climbing. There is no magic shortcut. Except for maybe auto belays.